* * *

“Argh!”

Taylor screamed in frustration after returning from the disastrous encounter with Hena Timothy.

His entire reason for attending the gathering had been to tarnish Henry Timothy’s reputation and obstruct his path.

To that end, he had even swallowed his pride and cozied up to John.

But Hena had ruined everything.

Not only had Taylor been humiliated, but the rumors he had spread were also exposed as lies.

---

[What was he thinking, spreading lies like that?]

[Didn’t he embarrass himself trying to cozy up to the Crown Prince last time?]

[He has no sense of honor as a noble.]

[Serves him right for thinking a merchant guild could grant him real power.]

---

The whispers and scorn from others had been unbearable.

Taylor had to flee the scene, recalling the last time he had humiliated himself before the Crown Prince, a failure that haunted him to this day.

“Why did she have to show up there of all places?”

His knight remained silent, knowing nothing he said would ease Taylor’s fury.

“Everything I’ve worked for is ruined. Ruined!”

Taylor swept a stack of papers off the table in a fit of rage.

They scattered across the floor, just like his plans had crumbled to dust.

Even after upending the table, Taylor’s anger hadn’t abated. He clawed at his hair, screaming his frustration.

As he panted from his outburst, his eyes darted around the room.

What had seemed like just his knight earlier now included the people who had laughed at him during the gathering.

They stood there, mocking him.

“Stop laughing…”

Taylor’s voice was shaky as he glared at the imaginary crowd.

But the laughter grew louder, suffocating him.

“Stop laughing!”

He clutched his head and screamed again.

“Are you alright, my lord?”

The knight grabbed Taylor’s arm, trying to calm him.

The cold air from the open window swept through the room, and just like that, the crowd disappeared.

Realizing they were nothing but hallucinations, Taylor let his arms drop, defeated.

“You can let go now.”

The knight released him, though his sharp gaze remained watchful, ready to intervene if Taylor lost control again.

Slumping into a chair, Taylor pressed his forehead into his palm.

“Henry Timothy. Henry Timothy.”

He had known the man’s name, of course.

As the heir to the Timothy family, Henry’s name carried weight, but Taylor had never seen him as a threat.

Compared to Edwin Lorenz, Henry lacked exceptional talent or any distinguishing traits beyond his family name.

And yet, Henry had everything Taylor wanted: influence, power, and even the loyalty of a rare ultra-dominant-alpha.

Taylor had approached Henry intending to befriend him, but one meeting was enough to change his mind.

Henry was no easy target.

Shaking him would be more effective than aligning with him.

“Just what makes Henry Timothy so special?”

Taylor’s eyes were red and bloodshot. He suffered from nightmares over the things he lacked, yet Henry seemed to possess everything without ever trying.

He wanted to take it all.

“It won’t be hard. I just have to do what I always do.”

Taylor’s lips curled into a cruel smile.

If Henry was an annoyance, he could simply get rid of him.

Absorbing the Reve Trading Company that Henry sponsored would likely rid him of this filthy mood entirely.

Though his initial plan to discredit Henry Timothy through fabricated rumors was thwarted by Hena Timothy, Taylor didn’t mind.

“After all, I never had just one plan.”

Taylor, now more composed, let his sinister smile deepen.

---

Henry climbed the hill, instructing Sir Teher to wait below.

Since he wasn’t venturing deep into the forest, he figured it wouldn’t be an issue.

Moreover, when Edwin arrived, things often got awkward in front of Sir Teher, so it was better to have him wait elsewhere.

As Henry waited for Edwin, a cool breeze rustled through his hair.

It felt as though a playful wind spirit was teasing him, bringing a smile to his face.

Closing his eyes to savor the breeze, Henry lifted a hand to touch the pendant at his neck.

It was a necklace he’d recently started wearing, and he was already growing accustomed to it.

“This Pheros thing is really something.”

The pheromones emanating from the necklace made him feel like Edwin was with him, even when they were apart.

The ability to constantly sense each other’s pheromones provided unparalleled comfort.

Henry’s unstable mind would calm each time he felt Edwin’s presence, drawing a contented sigh from his lips.

As he’d told Duke Lorenz, Edwin’s pheromones had initially felt overwhelming.

There hadn’t even been room to think about what they smelled like—it was as if an invisible fog was pressing down on him.

When had those pheromones started to feel comforting?

Now, Edwin’s scent wrapped around Henry like a warm blanket, offering protection.

Accepting that warmth, Henry finally had the space to notice the unique fragrance and intertwine his own pheromones with it.

“Sunlight…”

Henry tried to pinpoint what Edwin’s pheromones reminded him of.

It wasn’t easy to settle on one description.

They carried a warmth, akin to the scent released when something dried under intense heat—a complex aroma that was hard to articulate.

Lost in thought, Henry muttered to himself.

“I’m really sitting here wondering what Edwin’s pheromones smell like… I must actually like him.”

Surprised by his own realization, Henry clicked his tongue.

How could he have fallen for a man who had no relation to him, a protagonist bound to leave him behind?

Leaning against a tree, arms crossed, Henry began to reflect on his feelings for Edwin.

“It’s those damn pheromones.”

The more he delved into Edwin’s emotions, the more he found himself swayed by them.

Feeling connected to him, experiencing the same emotions—it all led Henry to understand Edwin better, and that understanding was the biggest factor in unsettling him.

Even with an unstable imprint, constantly being aware of the other led to falling for him.

As he pondered Edwin, Henry noticed the pheromones in his necklace had dissipated.

A faint frown crossed his face as he shook the necklace in frustration, wishing for more.

But pheromones weren’t dust, and shaking the necklace wouldn’t replenish them.

Anticipating Edwin’s arrival, Henry wasn’t overly flustered.

He simply took off the necklace, intending to ask Edwin to fill it again.

“Should I just hold his hand and ask?”

The thought of Edwin’s reaction—a mix of brief confusion followed by compliance—made Henry smile.

He soon heard approaching footsteps and turned to greet the newcomer with a grin.

“Why are you so late—”

Henry’s words trailed off as he realized it wasn’t Edwin. Standing before him was Taylor.

“Fancy meeting you here. Could this be a coincidence?”

The last time they’d met had been outside the Timothy estate, and now it was on a hill.

“I might believe once that it’s a coincidence, but twice? Do you expect me to fall for that?”

Taylor’s response made it clear that he’d intentionally sought Henry out.

His expression, now more brazen than when they’d last met, filled Henry with unease.

Henry recalled that it was he who had involved Hena in the gathering Taylor had attended. Knowing how Hena had outmaneuvered him, Henry grew wary.

“What brings you to me?”

“Hmm… Maybe because you annoy me?”

Taylor spoke lightly, as if contemplating his own reasons, but his words carried a heavy implication.

“I had planned to hide my identity and slowly push you out, but…”

The palpable hostility in Taylor’s voice made Henry clench his fists.

‘Something’s off.’

Taylor had spent a long time scheming against Kayla, laying traps and weaving plots.

In the original story, his gradual descent into a final antagonist had filled the latter half of the narrative.

But now, Taylor was skipping all the subterfuge, revealing his hand openly.

“You really have a way of making people lose their composure.”

Taylor shifted all the blame onto Henry, his sharp words cutting deep.

Henry couldn’t hide his alarm at the sudden change in Taylor’s tactics.

In the original story, Taylor had hidden his true intentions until an explosive climax threw everyone into chaos—especially when Kayla’s kidnapping triggered an unstable explosion of Edwin’s pheromones.

‘Is this really because of me?’

The fact that Taylor’s ire had shifted from Kayla to himself, rewriting all his plans, was something Henry couldn’t fully grasp.

“I don’t expect a kind explanation, but this situation is certainly bewildering.”

Feigning compliance, Henry tried to probe Taylor for more information.

“Hmm, where should I begin? Should I start with the fact that I’m the one who gave you that necklace? Or that I came here specifically to see you?”

Taylor pointed to the pendant hidden beneath Henry’s shirt.

* * *